


Mirror of Gold

by Tibbykat2001



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Awkward Roronoa Zoro, Badass Roronoa Zoro, Bisexual Vinsmoke Sanji, Dimension Travel, Eventual Roronoa Zoro/Vinsmoke Sanji, Feral Behavior, Feral Zoro AU, Gender bend au, Hate to Love, Hybrid AU, Jealous Roronoa Zoro, M/M, Minor Roronoa Zoro/Vinsmoke Sanji, Multi, Protective Roronoa Zoro, Roronoa Zoro and Vinsmoke Sanji Bickering, Sanji Being An Asshole, War AU, prision AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-07
Updated: 2018-06-07
Packaged: 2019-05-19 11:34:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14873018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tibbykat2001/pseuds/Tibbykat2001
Summary: The Strawhats are finally having a calm day. No Marine attacks, no one threatening to blow up the New World, no sudden storms, and no vengeful pirates ambushes. A perfect day. Until they happen upon a nasty shipwreck and find a small pyramid of gold-rimmed mirrors aboard the trashed vessel.Disclaimer: Obviously Oda owns One Piece, not me.





	Mirror of Gold

The sun shone down from a cloudless sky, the rays hitting the green grass that made up the majority of the Sunny's deck. Violin music floated in the wind from where Brook stood amongst the tangerine grove, his boney form swaying with the gentle melody. The girls were sitting in the sun, enjoying its warmth. Sanji was in the galley preparing snacks, occasionally twirling out to give the women drinks. Zoro was napping as Luffy, Chopper, and Usopp ran around the Sunny's grassy deck, playing a game. Franky was steering the Sunny, making sure they stayed on course.

"Nami-swan! Robin-chwan! Lunch is ready!" Sanji's dopey grin faded as he eyed a napping Zoro.

"Oi! Assholes! Hurry up or I'll let you starve!" That got Luffy moving real quick. He abandoned the game he was playing to rush toward the galley, causing the idiot captain to trip over Zoro's extended legs. Effectively waking the swordsman as Luffy face-planted with a thud. Zoro yawned as Luffy scrambled up, seemingly unaffected by the fall.

The swordsman watched Luffy's rapid depart and stood when he noticed the rest of his nakama migrating to the galley as well. Zoro stretched, bones cracking and popping in his back. He scratched the back of his neck, blinking groggily before making his way up the stairs. Sanji refilled drinks when needed, watching as his crew dug into his cooking with a vigor that lifted the chef's ego to soar above the clouds.

"How long until we reach the island? We need to restock on water and food." Sanji turned toward the beautiful Nami-swan with a warm smile. The navigator paused, Her fork halfway to her lips.

"We'll arrive by nightfall. Is it an emergency?" There was a strange emotion in her eyes that Sanji couldn't identify, but he decided he didn't like it.

"No, it's not. Don't worry your beautiful self with such insignificant matters!" Sanji wiggled, hearts in his eyes at her concern; she was such an angel!

The Sunny rocked, the sound of wood-hitting-wood echoed throughout the silent room. Sanji stumbled but quickly found his footing and burst out of the galley, ready to make bodies fly. But there was no attacking Marine ship, no Marines rushing onto the Sunny. Luffy, followed by the rest of the crew charged out Only to be met with the same, bare deck. Franky sprinted around a corner, looking slightly worried.

"We hit a shipwreck, I wasn't able to turn the Sunny in time." Franky explained; Luffy bolted to the railing, the rest of the crew following behind. Sanji blinked at the sight, the ship was half-sunk, supported above water by coral reefs. The remains of the ship suggested that in it's former glory, it wasn't much to look at. No flag could be seen amongst the drifting debris.

"Cool! Let's go on an adventure!" Luffy bounced excidedly, a childlike spark in his brown eyes. Usopp was the first to protest, as expected.

"W-well, I'd love t-to but I h-have the I-can't-explore-shipwrecks disease. If I go I'll die!" Usopp spluttered and as usual, Luffy and Chopper believed him.

"We should make sure there are no survivors before moving on." Robin commented in her monotone voice. Sanji was worried there was a double-mean to her suggestion, but Luffy was oblivious. He nodded, agreeing enthusiastically with her plan of action. Any excuse to poke around in a dangerous place.

"HELLO! Anyone alive!?" Luffy bellowed, making the crew deadpan. Nami punched the back of the idiot's head, making him yelp and cringe away from her wrath.

"You moron! Don't shout! What if whatever attacked them is still here!?" She whisper-yelled, pinching his face and making it stretch. A shiver went down Sanji's spine at Nami's words of warning.

"So...who's going to go?" Chopper squeaked.

*

Sanji kicked another piece of driftwood out of his raging path as he sloshed his way through the ship. They had already searched half the ship and they didn't find a single survivor, the ship was just...empty. Sanji was devastated, the girl's had stayed on the Sunny and he was stuck with Zoro, Luffy, Franky, and Chopper.

His idiot captain was seated atop Zoro's tan shoulders to avoid coming in contact with the salt water they were currently trudging through. The tiny doctor was perched on one of Franky's supernaturally massive shoulders, very focused on looking for any injured survivors or even bodies by this point. That left Sanji sulking moodily in the back, cursing his idiot rubber captain for dragging him along.

"Wait! Zoro, back up! I saw something shiny in the room we passed!" The sound of excitement in Luffy's voice piqued Sanji's curiosity, he waded into the room after his comrades. Luffy was pointing to a dark corner across the room where a faint glimmer could be seen, Franky sloshed forward and plucked the strange contraption up.

"It's broken." Sanji frowned, his shoulders slumping in disappointment. Franky turned to Luffy and opened his monstrous hand, revealing a pyramid seated in his palm. It was about the size of a soccer ball, the four faces and base of the pyramid were all cracked mirrors. Sanji's eyes skimmed over the shining golden boarders and if he squinted, he swore he could see some sort of ancient writing.

"Let me have a look!" Luffy made grabby-hands at the pyramid. Franky shifted, gently placing the artifact into the captain's waiting arms. Luffy then began to tilt it this way and that, giving it a thorough inspection.

"Hey! It's fixed!" Sanji lunged forward, getting into Zoro's personal space in order to see the pyramid that was clenched in-between Luffy's fingers. The mirrors that were once shattered to no return, now reflected Sanji's confused expression with an eerie clarity, as if it was never damaged in the first place.

"That's not normal." Chopper quipped, his eyes shining with fear and curiosity. He was hugging Franky's head, as far away from the pyramid as he could get in his situation. Sanji nodded in agreement to Chopper's concern, from this close he could definitely see a strange script carved into the solid gold boarders.

"Let's bring it to Robin. If anyone knows what this thing is, it's her." Zoro piped up from under Luffy, startling Sanji because the Marimo had been silent for the entire search.

"Yeah! Let's go, let's go!" Luffy agreed with a wide and reassuring grin. It eased Sanji's worries, and from the suddenly relaxed expressions of the others, they felt the same way. Sanji turned and splashed his way out of the room, Luffy and the others in tow. Franky was the last out, ducking to fit through the frame, but he didn't quite make it. His massive shoulder caught on the side of the doorway, splintering wood.

The sudden jolt causing Chopper to jerk from his perch, Sanji jumped at the falling reindeer, catching him just before he could touch the deadly ocean waves. Franky wasn't so lucky, he stumbled past Sanji and Chopper, unable to regain his footing before he slammed heavily into the wall across from the ruined door frame. The wall creaked under his impressive weight; the ship rumbled in protest to the abuse, chunks of wood and metal splashing into the restless water. They all froze until the shaking stilled, Sanji let out a silent breath of relief. Franky waited calmly a few seconds more before carefully pushing himself off the cracked wall, putting his weight back onto his skinny legs.

Once he was fully standing, he paused once again. Sanji's shoulders relaxed when nothing happened and the chef quickly placed Chopper on his shoulders, he even allowed the tiny doctor to curl locks of blond hair in his little hooves to hold on. Franky took a testing step forward, but apparently it was too soon. The ship creaked and groaned, the ground shaking as the water level started to rise rapidly.

"We gotta get out of here! It's gonna sink!" Chopper shrieked, making Sanji wince at the pitch the reindeer climbed to in his panic. They wasted no time in bolting toward the stairs that lead above deck, the water gushing in to encase their mid-calf by the time they found the staircase. The ship lurched, causing Zoro to tip back and slam into Sanji, who steadied them both.

"Move it." The chef hissed as he gave Zoro a not-so-gentle push up the steps. Sanji got a quick glare from the Marimo as they stumbled onto deck, making a beeline for the Sunny where the rest of their crew watched in worry and anticipation. Sanji lunged off the railing, throwing Chopper at Robin and Nami before he landed roughly on his side, Luffy and Zoro crashing into him not seconds later. Franky was the only one that managed to land on his feet. Sanji shoved his captain to the side as Zoro pushed himself up, watching as the ship sank down into the depths and disappeared. Sanji brushed off the front of his suit, frowning down at his drenched legs in disdain, a high pitched beeping brought him out of his thoughts to look over at Luffy. The idiot was holding the relic, it seemed to be where the noise the coming from.

"What did you do?" Usopp shrieked, hiding behind Franky's bulky frame and staring fearfully at the glowing pyramid. Luffy shrugged, expression curious as the pyramid started levitated and started to spin.

"Oh no...Captain-San! Don't let it touch the mast!" Robin yelled, looking clearly panicked. Luffy didn't even question her reasoning or hesitate to whip his arms up and wrap his fingers around the spinning relic, halting it's movement. The ringing turned into a high-pitched whine that had Sanji covering his ears, he forced his blue eyes open just as Luffy let go of the pyramid to cover his own assaulted eardrums. Sanji opened his mouth to yell when the relic snapped itself onto the mast and a bright explosion of white had him falling back on his ass and blacking out.

*

When Sanji rose back into consciousness, it was to the sound of gunfire and loud booms of cannons. The fact that they might be under attack had Sanji forcing his aching body up, he blinked several times. He felt like he'd just finished a twenty-four hour staring contest, his eyes burned as he blinked to moisturize them. When his vision was less blurry, he pushed himself onto sore legs.

Sanji peered around at his surroundings, his mouth going dry when he saw that they were beached, not a single body of water as far as the eye could see. The chef rubbed his irritated eyes, still there. He pinched himself. Nope, still there. It was dusk and there was dirt everywhere you looked, along with trenches where people in the Marine's colors of blue and white lay. There were people everywhere, fighting with guns and cannons. They looked like they were attacking an underground bunker, and from the fact they were unsuccessful so far, Sanji would say it was a military base. He peered up at the pyramid that was snugly connected to their main mast in frustration and curiosity.

They had somehow transported to the middle of a raging battlefield.

*

Sanji was distracted from panicking when he heard a groan from behind him. The blond turned to see Usopp shift before sitting up slowly. The rest of the crew following suit in the painful waking-up process. Sanji's eyes instantly searched for the girl's, when he spotted them, he hurried to their aid.

"Nami-swan, Robin-chwan! Are you alright?" Sanji asked worriedly but to his relief, Nami coughed out a quick 'yes' while Robin slowly nodded. The navigator held out a hand and Sanji took it, gently pulling her to her feet. He made sure she was stable before moving to help Robin onto shaky legs as well.

"What happened?" Sanji questioned when Robin stopped swaying on her feet, she gingerly touched her head with a grimace. Luffy and Zoro had awoken a minute or two after the chef and they were already on their feet. The duo helping the rest of the crew members up, Luffy turned to Robin after he had taken in their surroundings.

"Did the relic cause this?" Luffy asked, his voice serious with narrowed and calculating eyes. Sanji knew Luffy was upset, but not at Robin, he was usually never angry with his nakama.

"Most likely. I've only read about it in books. That pyramid is called _'The Mirror of Gold.'_ It was known to be only a myth, there's a children's book about it." Robin observed the relic with curious eyes.

"So how does the legend go?" Chopper squeaked, huddled close to a trembling Usopp.

"Well, the book doesn't say much about where it came from, but it does tell us how to get back." Robing paused, the ground rumbling as another cannon was fired.

"We should move elsewhere, somewhere out of sight." Robin quipped and no one disagreed. Luffy lead them into the men's sleeping quarters where they all hunkered down around Robin. She seemed to be in thought.

"I remember the book saying that each mirror represented an alternate reality. Each reality will be different yet similar to our own, and the only way to get back to our dimension is to go through each world and surviving. If we do, we gain a prize. If not...well, I think we all know what happens." Robin finished ominously. Sanji frowned, he didn't like this situation at all.

"How does it pick it's targets?" Zoro's voice spoke over the noises of the raging battle outside.

"The captain touching the relic starts the game, and bringing it onto the ship activates it. I fear if we were to try and take the Mirror of Gold off the mast, we'd be stuck here for the rest of our lives." Robin's lips were pressed into a thin line, she looked troubled. Luffy stood and the crew's attention was drawn to him.

"I say we play the game. How do we win Robin?" Luffy had a huge grin on his face and Sanji mentally groaned. Luffy was going to consider this another one of those ridiculous, deadly adventures.

"We have to survive seven days in each reality. The ship itself leaves so we must be sure _everyone_ is on the ship, or they'll be left behind. After each dimension, a mirror will crack. Since it's a pyramid, we will have to go through five different realities. This is the first one, each reality only gets more dangerous." Everyone listened attentively as Robin spoke, Sanji was wondering why the rules were so easy to understand. Footsteps above them cut off anything else that was going to be said. The footfalls moved about the deck for only a couple more seconds before three thumps were heard followed by the thud as another, lone pair of feet hit the deck.

The lighter footsteps grew closer to the hatch, Zoro had a hand on the hilt of wado. Sanji's body was tense, ready to attack. The rest of the Strawhat crew ready to for whoever would come at them. The hatch was pulled open, a head of blond hair popped into the hatch. Luffy was the first to act, he whipped his fist forward and it stretched to nail the mystery person across the cheek. The person slipped forward out of the hatch and thumped to the floor.

Sanji inched closer, jumping back when the person groaned loudly. Everyone's eyes widened, normal people didn't remain conscious when Luffy punched them. There was the soft sound of Zoro pulling his blades as the person before them pushed themselves up slightly.

"Ow." Sanji's eyes narrowed, the voice sounded eerily familiar. The person shifted their head to look up and there were gasps, the dude looked like he could be Sanji's twin brother. The male's eyes also widened when he saw Sanji and he scrambled to his feet, he stared at the crew with confusion.

"Who are you?" Luffy asked, his head tilting in curiosity, Robin was the only one who didn't seem surprised. The man blinked rapidly when Luffy spoke, his eyes clouded with panic. Sanji's doppelganger wore camo-printed baggy pants and a long-sleeved black shirt. His boots were caked in mud and what Sanji noticed was dried blood. There was another thud, and since the hatch was open, the Strawhats could actually hear voices.

"Where the hell did Sean run off to _now?"_ the voice was slightly muffled but the crew saw how Zoro's eyes widened when he heard his own voice. Sanji looked back at his doppelganger, who's whole body seemed to relax when he heard the voice.

"You know how he is, he's probably caving people's heads in." Another voice mumbled and Sanji peeked over at Usopp, there was no mistaking it. That had been a carbon copy of their sharp-shooters voice.

"I don't like it when he runs off without me." Sanji's brow scrunched, this 'Sean' person had to be Sanji's doppelganger, but that didn't explain how the guy with Zoro's voice was saying weird stuff. The crew looked shocked, they must have noticed too. Sanji saw movement out of the corner of his eye and his head turned to see Sean climbing the latter, he didn't get very far until Robin grabbed him with her devil fruit. He was yanked back down onto the floor with a thud and the footsteps on the deck went silent.

"Sean, is that you?" The blond, Sean, was struggling in Robin's grip. His face screwed up in a mixture of wariness and confusion when he slowed his struggles to stare at the appendages sticking out of his own body. Sean's eyes flickered with panic as the footfalls drew away and Sanji didn't even have time to warn anyone before the dude had already yelled.

"ZAIN!" Sanji could already guess who he was calling for but the green blur that was dropping down the hatch the next second still shocked him. He didn't even hear Zoro's doppelganger move before he was crouched over Sean. Sean and Zain's eyes met and a small, relieved smile stretched onto Sean's lips.

"I thought you were gonna leave me." Sean quipped and Zain's lone eye narrowed as he peered down at the doppelganger.

"I'd _never_." Sanji blinked, Zain sounded...offended. Sanji looked over his appearance, Zain was hearing camo shorts instead of pants. He had on a dark green jacket that he didn't bother zipping, leaving his chest and abs on full display. His own pair of scuffed and dusty combat boots tied snugly onto his feet.

"Uriel, go get Lucas!" Zain called and there was the sound of stuttering and the thumps of quick footsteps fading away. Sanji watched as Sean squirmed in Robin's hold, the doppelganger let out a defeated sigh and peered back up at Zain, looking completely relaxed.

"What have I been telling you about covering up?" Sean blurted, Zain and the crew snapping their attention to him at the odd question.

"And I keep telling you, I never have time to put one on because you run off without me." Zain growled, his silver eye briefly flickering down to glower at Sean's smirking face.

"Wasn't the solution to that problem sharing a room?" Zain pinned the smug Sean with a deadly glare.

"You wake up before me, that's not fair." Sanji's mouth went dry, the two _shared_ a room!? Everyone else looked just as shocked as Sanji.

"Did you see how hot my doppelganger is? Yours is nice to look at too." Sean continued on as if Zain didn't look completely ready to slit his throat. Zain rolled his eyes but peered at Sanji with an unnerving intensity. The chef let out the breath he was holding when his eye shifted over to Zoro, who held Zain's gaze with a glare of his own.

"We mean you no harm." Zain quipped suddenly, his body relaxing and he sheathed his swords at his hip. Sean blinked up at him, his head tilting in a silent question.

"Will you please let my friend go." Sanji actually recoiled as Zain, _Zoro's doppelganger_ , said _please_. Robin looked at Luffy, who was in a staring contest with Zain. A moment later Luffy gave Robin a nod, the appendages restraining Sean disappeared with flower pedals. Zain wasted no time grabbing Sean and helping him to his feet.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere? You idiot, this is why you don't run into dangerous situations without me." Zain looked frustrated and Sean flinched when Zain pressed his fingers around Sean's temple.

"Where did you get this?" Zain growled, Sanji knew what that tone meant, and by the way the rest of the crew tensed, they did too.

"The kid that looks like Lucas has a hell of a right hook." Sean shrugged, looking unaffected by the rage that was rolling off Zain in waves.

"Would you chill, it was just a punch. We both know I've had worse." Sanji didn't like the tone Sean said the last line in. Zain scoffed, but his anger simmered down as a voice yelled from above deck.

"Zain! Sean! Uriel told me you two were in a tough situation!" The unmistakable voice of Luffy bellowed from the hatch's opening.

"We've got it all settled, move so we can get up. You won't believe this boss." Sean clambered up the latter with Zain on his heels. Luffy followed after them, and so did the rest of the crew.

*

"So...you guys were transported here by a thing called the Mirror of Gold?" Nami's doppelganger, Nora, asked. Luffy nodded, the two Strawhat groups were seated on the Sunny's grassy deck. So far they knew that Lucas was Luffy's doppelganger, Zain was Zoro's, Uriel was Usopp's, Caleb was Chopper's, and Sean was Sanji's. Caleb was a fourteen-year-old kid with dark skin and matching hair, his large doe-like eyes screaming innocence. Uriel looked exactly like Usopp only his nose was short, _normal_.

Nora wasn't much different from Nami, the only thing Sanji could notice was that Nora had one orange eye and one emerald green eye. Zain had multiple differences from Zoro, he still had the cut over his eye, his hair was green, and his eye color was still silver, but the scar on his chest was different. It was more jagged, and was probably a deeper cut. Like someone had stabbed him with a small dagger and dragged it slowly down his body. There were also various other scars that littered Zain's body that Zoro didn't have.

Sanji eyed Sean and Zain from where he sat at an oak table in their doppelganger's impenetrable base, he was pretty sure Uriel called it 'Sonny.' Apparently they had been fighting in the war against Marines because they government tried to set restrictions. For example, how much water and food a family got. This outraged many people and Lucus began his search for comrades to help him rebel against the Marines. That's how the three-year war broke out, still going strong with the rebellion finally gaining headway.

Sanji found it all very interesting, including the little tidbit slip that Sean and Zain were recruited _together_. The chef wasn't too sure how to feel about that information. Sanji knew for a _fact_ that Zoro was the first to join Luffy's crew, and that Sanji followed behind, _after_ Usopp and Nami. Luffy, of course explained this, prompting the doppelganger team to give Sanji and Zoro odd looks. They probably found this situation just as weird as the original Strawhats did. Sanji startled when Zain flopped down in the seat next to his, looking completely at ease. The chef didn't know how to handle a Zoro that he didn't fight with constantly; for once, Sanji was at a loss.

"Hey Zain? You want cucumber or carrot with dinner?" Sean leaned out from the kitchen where delicious smells wafted from. Zain seemed to think for a moment, a spark of...something in his silver eye.

"Cucumber." Zain nodded to himself as he responded, throwing Sanji for a loop. Sean only smiled at Zain and gave him a thumbs-up before disappearing back into the kitchen. Sanji decided to try and play nice, he was curious about Zain's origins. Sanji cleared his throat, gaining not only Zain's attention, but every one else's too; but Sanji wouldn't be deterred from asking his questions.

"Yeah? Sanji, right?" The blond nodded, swallowing hard at Zain's politeness.

"Uh, yeah...could I ask you something personal?" The room quieted down to an uncomfortable silence. Everyone was staring at Sanji and Zain's exchange, curious and wary.

"Go ahead, I got nothing to hide." Zain shrugged and Sanji hesitated. He really didn't want to pry, especially when Zoro was giving him a death-glare, but he was in too deep to back out now.

"Where'd you get that scar?" Sanji blurted loudly, Zoro and the crew looking surprised. Maybe it was because Sanji already knew the answer, but he just _had_ to be sure. It looked different, it wasn't the same fight that Zoro had, he was sure of it. Zain looked down at his exposed chest and placed a hand over the scar, rubbing his fingers on it subconsciously.

"A strong swordsman named Mihawk gave it to me." A clatter came from the kitchen before Sean whipped around the corner and was at Zain's side in nanoseconds.

"What about that dirty, _cheating_ son of a _bitch_ _!?"_ Sean snarled and Zain reached up, gripping Sean's shirt. Zain had a far away look in his eye as he explained Sean's unexpected outburst.

"I got this from taking a hit for this idiot. Mihawk didn't like his input so he tried to kill Sean in the middle of our long-overdue battle. I got there first, but didn't have time to block." His hand gripped Sean's shirt tighter, Sanji felt his gut flip from the look of pure shock on Zoro and the other's faces.

"I was barely conscious, bleeding out on the ground. I could hear every thump of my heart, I was sure I would die. But then...then I heard a horrible scream. I forced my eyes open and-" Zain pressed his lips tightly together. Lucas looked very serious when he knelt before the two supposed friends.

"You don't have to-" Zain cut him off.

"No, they should know. They're just another version of us right?" Zain breathed out a shaky breath.

"When I pushed myself up and blinked through the blood, Mihawk was standing over Sean...He had taken-" Zain swallowed thickly and Sanji knew he wouldn't like what was coming. Luffy and the others, especially Zoro, were paying rapt attention to Zain's words.

"Mihawk had severed Sean's right hand clean off, the sword was so close to his throat, centimetres from slitting it and I blacked out for a few seconds. When I came to, I was already standing and I was incredibly numb. I used my inevitable death to my advantage, I stoved my blade into Mihawk, effectively shoving him off Sean. I cut and stabbed until he was dead and still kept going until Sean stopped me. He brought me to the local doctor and that's where we met Caleb and Finn. The kid fixed me right up but Sean..." Zain trailed off and the rustling of cloth had the room's occupants looking up at a expressionless Sean. He had yanked his shirt sleeve up, it looked like a normal hand until Sean pried the black latex glove off. Sanji slapped a hand over his mouth in horror, it was a _robotic hand_. The metal graphed into flesh and bone in a gruesome but complex pattern Sanji just couldn't make sense of.

"It's not perfect, I can't hold a knife right and I get pain from the frayed nerves sometimes. The only thing I can really do right now is write. Finn makes upgrades on it every so often, but it's hard to get the needed supplies when you're the most wanted in the world." Sean chuckled dryly, staring down at the metal limb with a twisted form of forced-content. Zain grabbed the metal hand and looked it over before giving the cool steel a tight squeeze.

"You just gotta keep practicing." Caleb pipped up and Sean smiled softly at the boy, ruffling the kid's hair in adoration.

"Yeah, whatever runt." Sean groused, but his spirit had been easily lifted back up.

"Does it interfere with your fighting?" Sanji almost choked on spit when Zoro's voice spoke out, curiosity and a dark emotion in his voice. Sean seemed hesitant to answer until Zain bumped the back of his hand onto Sean's hip reassuringly.

"Uh...I can't overwork it or the nerves will malfunction. It can hold my bodyweight fine, but only for about fifteen minutes. I've lasted over ten hours out on the field with non-stop opponents before it fries." Caleb shot a disapproving look at Sean, who immediately defended himself.

"What!? Zain was there, I got back without a scratch didn't I?" Sean groused but Caleb looked unimpressed.

"Zain carried your seizuring body into the base after you had collapsed screaming on the battlefield, Zain has _three_ _scars_ from just that _one_ incident. You both are idiots who push themselves too hard." Caleb scoffed, crossing his arms with a seriously scary glare directed at Zain and Sean, who at least had the decency to look ashamed.

"But the Marines don't call them the _Monster Trio_ for no reason." Nora quipped, sipping at her juice. Sean smiled brightly at the lady.

"Thanks sweetie." He strut to her side and placed a soft kiss on her cheek. Sanji almost had a heart attack from what he had just witnessed.

"Are you two...like, a thing?" Nami asked, her voice oddly strained. Nora laughed as Sean chuckled.

"No silly, I'm with him." Nora pointed at Lucas, who was chatting away happily with Uriel.

"Then wha...?" Usopp trailed off when Sanji glared at him, cowering behind Nami.

"That's how he is with all the girls." Zain scowled and Nora rolled her eyes.

"You're just jealous cause his full attention isn't always on you. You have the mindset if a toddler with a shiny new toy." Nora scolded, finishing the last of her drink with a content sigh. Nami and Robin were pleasantly surprised at this new development.

"Tch, the idiot can flirt with whoever he wants." Zain growled, a pout on his lips. Sean laughed, it was loud and full of cheer as he ran a hand through Zain's short locks of green.

"Ladies like it when I give them nicknames. And they like it even more when I act like myself." Sean teased in a light voice, Zain crossed his arms with a glare, but made no move to remove Sean's hand from his head. Nami smiled mischievously as an idea popped into her head.

"I don't quite get it, Sanji is so different from you Sean. Can you elaborate further?" Nami had schooled her features into one of innocence as Sean looked up in thought.

"Okay...well, I call Nora Sweetie or Sweetheart, And Rachel is Darling. I would probably refer to you as...Honey, and Robin would be, Sugar." Sean shrugged and Nami smirked.

"Is that what you're going to call us now?" Nami was playing a game, and Sean knew that.

"I don't know Honey? Is that what you want?" Sean's voice had dropped an octave or two, making his words a deep, soothing rumble. Nami giggled as Robin smiled, he was good. Sean was smacked on the back of his head by an irritated Zain.

"You'll burn the grub, shitty-blond." Sean bumped foreheads with Zain before scrambling back into the kitchen. Zain smirked in victory when he pulled a bottle of good sake from behind his back. He popped off the lid and took a swig, sighing in content. Zoro perked up in interest at the alcohol, causing Zain to smirk smugly. He thrust the half-full bottle into Zoro's face with a welcoming smile.

"Want some? It's the good shit."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know. Yet another fanfic...but I just couldn't help myself! This particular story has been itching to be written ever since I had the idea in history class. As always, don't forget to Read & Review! Stay weird my lovelies!
> 
> Tibby out!


End file.
